By MINDY KEPFIELD

Staff writer

A quarter commemorating the Flint Hills has been in circulation for a while, but like the Regal fritillary butterfly on its reverse side, it can be hard to spot.

“I can’t say I’ve seen any yet,” Marion National Bank teller Jayme Jirak said. “Once in a blue moon we come across a state quarter, but I’ve never come across a Tallgrass one yet.”

A teller At Hillsboro State Bank who declined to be named said she has yet to see one as well.

The Tallgrass National Preserve Quarter was released this past year by the U.S. Mint as a part of its America the Beautiful Program commemorating national parks.

The Tallgrass quarter was one of five released in 2020 and the final one for that year in November.

It depicts a Regal fritillary butterfly soaring against a backdrop of Big Bluestem and Indian Grasses.

Eric Patterson, lead park ranger for the Tallgrass National Preserve, said the quarter did not draw a lot of attention because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“The unveiling was not the splash extravaganza we were looking for,” he said.

He said the Tallgrass preserve got about $500 worth of the quarters for its bookstore and still has about half of them available.

There don’t appear to be a lot of the coins in circulation right now, said Megan Suffield, assistant cashier at Tampa State Bank.

“There are not a lot of loose ones available,” she said. “When we have seen them, we have saved some for customers.”

She saw the first one at the beginning of 2021.

Trudy Slifer, a teller at Central National Bank in Marion, said the quarters are available for order, but it may take longer for them to get in.

However, if they order a batch of coins there will be no fee for shipping. Sets are about $4.95.

They also are available on the United States Mint web site: usmint.gov.